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Count Adam Vinatieri as a ‘no’ vote on narrower goal posts

By Phil Watson

January 24, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; General view of the goal post with this year's modification of decreasing the goal post width during the 2015 Pro Bowl practice at Scottsdale Community College. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 24, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; General view of the goal post with this year's modification of decreasing the goal post width during the 2015 Pro Bowl practice at Scottsdale Community College. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Veteran kicker Adam Vinatieti was not a fan of the NFL’s experiment with narrower goal posts in the Pro Bowl, not after missing two extra points and a field goal.

Longtime NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri tried the proposed new world of NFL kicking Sunday night at the Pro Bowl.

The Indianapolis Colts’ kicker didn’t like it.

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Vinatieri missed two 35-yard extra points and a 38-yard field goal in the game, which was played with goalposts that were 14 feet apart rather than the traditional 18 feet, 6 inches.

“Ask a receiver, can we take his gloves off because he’s catching the ball too well?” Vinatieri told NFL.com after the game. “Nobody is going to be overly happy about that. But I understand the wheels of change are in motion and people want to change stuff, but I feel bad for the young bucks that will have to deal with it their whole career.”

The first year the NFL moved the goalposts from the goal line to the end line, 1974, kickers made 335-of-553 field goals attempted, a success rate of 60.6 percent.

That was an average of 13 field goals made per team in a 26-team league playing a 14-game schedule.

This year, with 32 teams playing 16 games each, kickers hit 829-of-987 field goal attempts, 84 percent.

In a league wanting to emphasize more touchdowns and fewer field goals, that doesn’t bode well—particularly since coaches are more inclined to take the easy three points when they know they’ll get it more than eight times out of 10.

In 1974, kickers converted 733-of-796 extra points—a success rate of 92.1 percent.

This season, that rate on extra points was 99.3 percent (1,222 out of 1,230).

Another factor to consider is this: Since college football adopted the 18-foot goal posts (actually 18 feet, 6 inches) in 1991, kicking field goals in college football has been more difficult than in the pro ranks, because of the wider hashmarks in college.

NFL kickers don’t have to contend with those hashmarks that are 60 feet from the sidelines and the difficult angles those can create, particularly on shorter kicks.

A 23- or 24-yard field goal from the hashmarks in college has the kicker looking at a target that looks like a sliver instead of a wide opening.

NFL goalposts have been the same width since the league debuted in 1920; other than moving them off the goal line, this would be just the second significant change in league history as it relates to the goalposts themselves.

There have been changes in the kicking game—eliminating tees on place kicks, implementing the special kicking balls and penalizing teams for missed field goals by placing the ball at the spot of the kick rather than the original ball spot.

Seems like a terrific idea—why shouldn’t kicking in the pros be more difficult than in college?

And for the record? Not crazy about the gloves, either.

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